NEWSLETTER
With the NBA season set to tip off in just two weeks, a slew of power and player rankings are coming our way. ESPN was among the first to kick things off with their annual Top 100 list. And, to no surprise, it has already caused a stir.
There has been quite a bit of movement up and down the ladder since the 2022 chart, and the Chicago Bulls were a big part of that. While each member of the team’s “Big 3” made the cut (thank goodness), they each saw their ranking drop rather drastically.
Nikola Vucevic is the first to appear at No. 75. The big man came in at No. 57 before the 2022-23 campaign. His current ranking has him sandwiched between Chris Paul (No. 76) and Cade Cunningham (No. 74). All things considered, I don’t have a gripe with this. Jordan Poole’s (No. 72) and Walker Kessler’s (No. 72) status over Vucevic surprised me a bit, but I also don’t have a huge problem with ESPN favoring two younger players for the upcoming season. Both have the possibility to put up some big numbers in their current spots.
With that said, merely looking at it as going from No. 57 to No. 75 does feel like too big of a drop for the big man. Vucevic had a far better season this past year than the one prior. Not only did he play a full 82 games for the first time in his career, but he averaged 17.6 points and 11.0 rebounds on career-high efficiency. He deserves more respect than he’s gotten for his ability to able to adapt to his tertiary role in Chicago. I also think there is a real possibility that Vucevic put together an even more impactful season this year, as the Bulls could look to use him more as a playmaker. More on that here.
Up next, of course, came the Chicago Bulls’ two top scorers. ESPN placed DeMar DeRozan at No. 39 and Zach LaVine at No. 38. We saw the site put DeRozan and LaVine right next to each other heading into last season, as well, but they also sat in the top 30 at No. 28 and No. 27, respectively. ESPN states that DeRozan dropped 11 spots due to the team’s inability to “win at the same level as they did two seasons ago.” As for LaVine, they mentioned his slow start to the 2022-23 season after coming off knee surgery.
I don’t have a huge problem with knocking either of these players for the team’s overall poor performance. But let’s also not forget that they each had pretty superb individual seasons. DeRozan’s eFG% sat at 52.2 percent after finishing at 52.1 percent in 2021-22. He also averaged more assists and steals per game. Zach LaVine was easily one of the best scorers in the NBA over the second half of the season, finishing with the third-most points in the league from Jan. 2 onward. His 55.8 eFG% was also the second-highest of his career. More on his great second-half performance here.
Again, I understand holding the team’s record against them, but it’s not like these two fell off on an individual level. If anything, they actually played at an even higher level. And that’s why I think an argument can be made about them sitting anywhere between the 28-39 range.
Here is what that looks like, by the way.
39. DeMar DeRozan
38. Zach LaVine
37. Bradley Beal
36. Darius Garland
35. Ja Morant
34. Kyrie Irving
33. Mikal Bridges
32. Jalen Brunson
31. Jaren Jackson Jr.
30. Paolo Banchero
29. Trae Young
28. Lauri Markkanen
Brandon Ingram sits at No. 27, and I think everyone past that rightfully belongs there. But would anyone be shocked if LaVine and/or DeRozan had better years than anyone listed above? I mean, an argument can be made that they played better – on an individual basis – than the majority last season.
Anyway, that’s where my questioning of a top 100 list will end. There is just always going to be room for debate, and I also have a hard time advocating for these players too strongly when the collective on-court production has just been so underwhelming. If they Chicago Bulls play better, then they’ll make it impossible for the analysts and algorithms to treat everyone on the roster with a bit more respect.
Speaking of which …
